Free Hundred Chart and 10 Ways to Use It

A hundred chart is a surprisingly simple way to teach a lot of math skills. For instance, you can use a hundred chart to teach kids number sequencing {1, 2, 3}, patterns {each column on the chart ends in the same digit} and skip counting {10, 20, 30, etc.}. Grab your free printable hundred chart {below} and then check out some of my favorite ways to use it.

Why 120 instead of 100?

Before I go any further, I better stop and explain why this hundred chart includes numbers up to 120. Kinda’ weird, but I promise it’s not a mistake.

Ask a first grader what number comes after 100 and you’ll likely hear something like “110” or “200”. It can be confusing for new mathematicians to understand the patterns that happen after the number 100 if they don’t see them. So Common Core Math Standards now encourage kids to practice the numbers up to 120 instead of stopping at 100.

How to Use the Hundred Chart

After printing the hundred chart, there are tons of fun ways to use it. Have another idea to add to the list? Please share it in the comments below. I always love discovering new activities.

1. Give kids a dot marker or crayon and have them color in numbers as they skip count. They could count by tens {10, 20, 30…} by twos {2, 4, 6, 8…}, etc.

2. Print two copies of the hundred chart – one on white cardstock and one on color. Cut the colored copy into strips lengthwise. Picking up one strip at a time, have kids lay the colored strip on top of its matching white column.

3. Print a copy of the blank hundred chart. Fill in some numbers and then have your kids fill in the rest. The more numbers you write first, the easier the activity is so this is an easy one to differentiate for different ability levels.

4. Cut the hundred chart into chunks like a puzzle. Then have students piece it together again.

5. Teach kids how to count dimes by laying them on the hundred chart. The first dime would go on the 10. The next dime would rest on the 20 and so on.

6. Make a peek-a-boo cross that shows kids the relationship between a number and the other numbers touching it.

7. Have pairs of students race each other to 100. Player One rolls the die and moves his playing piece that many spaces. Then it’s Player Two’s turn to roll and move. The first player to reach 100 first is the winner.

Malia is a National Board Certified teacher who inspires educators with playful approaches to early childhood education. She earned her Master’s from Stanford University and has taught in Pre-Kindergarten through 2nd grade. Malia shares her motivating learning activities on her two popular teaching blogs Playdough to Plato and The STEM Laboratory.

About Malia Hollowell

Malia is a National Board Certified teacher who inspires educators with playful approaches to early childhood education. She earned her Master’s from Stanford University and has taught in Pre-Kindergarten through 2nd grade. Malia shares her motivating learning activities on her two popular teaching blogs Playdough to Plato and The STEM Laboratory.

Comments

Thank you so much! I am a busy substitute teacher, so unless I’m long-terming I don’t have to plan lessons. But I’m also tutoring a friend’s foster care children, and these ideas were just what I was looking for to help them with their number sense!

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